Cross Country Performs Well at Regionals

Over the Thanksgiving break, a handful of the cross country team traveled down to Cary, North Carolina to compete in the annual Nike Southeast Regionals meet. Teams from Florida, North and South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware and Maryland came to compete. Before the gun went off for the first race, the runners were facing the challenges of sub 40 degree weather and heavy rain all morning. SPHS runner Garrison Clark placed 14th in the Boys Championship race, with a time of 15:36 for the 5k race. Coming in next in 34th place was Samuel Martin with a time of 15:53. The boys team finished 4th place overall in the Championship race, partially thanks to outstanding performances by Clark and Martin even in adverse conditions.

The girls varsity also competed in a championship race, coming in 16th place, with runner Allysa Combs coming in 38th place with a time of 19:03. “That was so hard” Combs said, “I was freezing.” Along with the successes in the boys and girls championship races, the girls team dominated the open race. Led by Brenna Mullaney, who came in 7th place with a time of 19:54, the girls team was able to win by 11 points. Having a similar success in the boys open race, the team came in 2nd place. Jake Martin, Alex Chaisson and James Dennison all crossed the line under 17 minutes, with Dennison finishing in 9th place overall. Finally, the boys who raced in the Rising Stars race, freshman and sophomores who aren’t on varsity, came out on top in their race as well, with sophomore James Louie coming in 3rd place overall with a 16:49. The girls who competed in the Rising Star race were unable to score because they only had two runners, Abby Weist and Grace Yearwood.

Cross country season has come to an end, and some athletes are still in racing. Many of the runners have been training since June. “I’m glad the season is over, I’m ready for indoor track” said sophomore Kelsie O’Neill.